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JSSC CGL paper leak: HC grants bail to accused in ‘fake narrative’ case
The Jharkhand High Court granted bail to Santosh Kumar, arrested for spreading rumors about a JSSC exam leak, not for leaking papers.
The Jharkhand High Court on Friday granted regular bail to suspended finance department employee Santosh Kumar, who was arrested for allegedly spreading a ‘fake narrative’ regarding a paper leak in the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) Combined Graduate Level (CGL) Examination held in September 2024.
Kumar was booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 (including sections 318 and 324) and the Jharkhand Competitive Examination (Prevention and Redressal of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Act, 2023. While the state initially accused Kumar of being involved in unfair means, the final charge-sheet suggested his primary role was spreading ‘baseless rumours’ to discredit the examination process rather than leaking actual papers.
Justice Gautam Kumar Choudhary, hearing the bail application observed that the allegation against Kumar was essentially for spreading a narrative about a leak, not for direct involvement in a leak itself. The defence argued that the case was a ‘counter-blast’ because Kumar had raised concerns about the exam’s integrity.
The court directed that Santosh Kumar be released on bail upon furnishing a bail bond of ₹25,000 with two sureties of the same amount. He had been in custody since October 28, 2025.
“Charge sheet in this case has been submitted on 19.01.2026 being Charge-sheet No.5/2026 against the petitioner and the copy of it has been filed by way of supplementary affidavit. From plain reading of the charge-sheet, it appears that the allegation is of not being involved in any paper leak, but spreading baseless rumour with regard to such paper leak so as to discredit the JSSC CGL Examination. Under the circumstances, the above-named petitioner is directed to be released on bail on furnishing bail bond of Rs.25,000/-(Twenty-Five Thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the Court below,” the bail order reads.
A copy of the order is in the possession of Hindustan Times.
On September 21 and 22, 2024, JSSC conducted the CGL exam across 823 centres after a previous leak in January 2024. To prevent cheating, the government had imposed a 6-hour internet shutdown.
Later, candidates alleged a fresh paper leak, noting that only 82 candidates passed from the September 21 shift compared to over 2,000 from the Sept 22 shift. Student leaders like Devendra Nath Mahto led massive protests in Ranchi, resulting in police lathi charges and arrests.
On December 17, 2024, the HC stayed the publication of final results following a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by Rajesh Kumar demanding a CBI probe. However, it allowed the document verification (DV) process to continue.
The CID arrested six IRB (Indian Reserve Battalion) jawans and a suspended IRB jawan Kundan Kumar for their involvement in the paper leak racket. Key mastermind Vinay Shah (alias Harihar Singh) was arrested in Gorakhpur, UP, for allegedly taking candidates to Nepal to “memorise” leaked papers.
On December 3, 2025, a division bench of the Jharkhand HC vacated the stay on result publication. The court ruled there was no evidence of a ‘systemic leak’ and rejected the demand for a CBI probe, opting instead for a time-bound SIT investigation.
On December 8, 2025, the JSSC officially released the merit list for over 2,000 graduate-level posts. On December 30, successful candidates received appointment letters and held celebrations at the CM’s residence, marking the end of the recruitment saga.
The HC order was challenged before the Supreme Court by Rajesh Kumar. On January 5, 2026, the Supreme Court dismissed special leave petitions (SLPs) challenging the HC order, effectively removing the last legal hurdle for appointments.
